Coil bundle compress and tying mechanism



Sept. 10, 1968 w, J, -m ETAL 3,400,652

COIL BUNDLE COMPRESS AND TYING MECHANISM Filed Jan. 4, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 mlm INVENTORS Harold E. Woodrow William J. Hill Raymond R. Sturvoski KWmWQM ATTORNEYS Sept. 10, 1968 w. J. HILL ETAL 3,400,652

COIL BUNDLE COMPRESS AND TYING MECHANISM Filed Jan. 4, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS Harold E. Woodrow William J. Hill Raymond R. Siorvoski ATTORNEYS Sept. 10, 1968 w. J. HILL ET 3,400,652

COIL BUNDLE COMPRESS AND TYING MECHANISM Filed Jan. 4, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORS Harold E. Woodrow William J. Hill Raymond R. Storvos i PMMWLIMP ATTORNEYS Sept. 10, 1968 w. J. HILL ET AL 3,400,652

COIL BUNDLE COMPRESS AND TYING MECHANISM Piled Jan. 4, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 F \G. 4 INVENTORS Harold E. Woodrow William J. Hill Raymond R. Storvoski WSW-H V ATTORN YS Sept. 10, 1968 w. J. |-m.| E L COIL BUNDLE COMPRESS AND TYING MECHANISM 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Jan. 4, 1967 INVENTORS i S w w m .MH 8 0 .18 T w R M E m d O mmm m HWR M United States Patent 3,400,652 COIL BUNDLE COMPRESS AND TYING MECHANISM William J. Hill, Holden, and Raymond R. Starvaski and Harold E. Woodrow, Worcester, Mass., assignors to Morgan Construction Company, Worcester, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Filed Jan. 4, 1967, Ser. No. 607,266 Claims. (Cl. 100-7) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An apparatus for compacting and handing large rod coil bundles produced by a continuous rolling mill and reformed into bundles weighing up to 3,000 pounds or larger. The compacting forces are applied and reacted within a structural framework through which a mandrel is pivoted first to receive the loose bundle, second to position the mandrel and bundle in compacting position where the compacted coil is banded and finally to discharge the compacted and banded bundle.

Cross-reference to related application This invention is useful for example with the apparatus disclosed in S.N. 582,314 entitled Rod Coil Reforming Mechanism.

Background of the invention The field of this invention is compacting bundles of coiled strands and the banding of the bundle while it is compacted in order to provide an efficient package for subsequent handling and storage.

Prior art devices have generally not been able to operate with the speed required by modern high speed rolling mills or to process bundles of sufiiciently large size or without seriously altering the uniform disposition of the loops of the reformed coil bundle due to gravity acting on coils supported on horizontally disposed compacting arms.

Summary of the invention In the present invention apparatus that can accommodate various bundle sizes and high rolling speeds is provided using a rotatable mandrel supported in a structural frame that bears the compacting forces. The mandrel is capable of making a smooth fit with the supporting structures from which the unbanded bundle is received and to which the banded bundle is discharged. When the mandrel is in a vertical position within the frame, a ram applies compacting force which is reacted through the frame and not applied through the pivotable trunnion bearings that support the mandrel. When the bundle is compacted, the inner diameter and end surfaces of the bundle are constrained to achieve a substantially uniform bundle shape and retaining bands are applied so that the compact shape of the bundle is retained after the ram pressure is released. Preferably the strapping operation is performed in a plurality of spaced locations around the periphery of the bundle and for this purpose the apparatus of the invention is adapted to permit the bundle to be axially rotated on the compressing mandrel to present the spaced locations of the bundles successively to the strapping machines to apply as many straps as are necessary to retain the desired bundle. Preferably the strapping operation is performed by two opposed strapping machines and two positions of the bundle axially rotated 90 degrees relative to the bundle axis so that four equally spaced straps are secured around the completed bundle. After the bundle has been completely strapped the mandrel is pivoted to a third Patented Sept. 10, 1968 r. ICC

sequential position where the apparatus of the invention discharges the strapped bundle onto a suitable conveyor which may be designed to cooperate with the mandrel structure so that a transfer takes place without injury to the inner coil rings of the bundle as they slide across the interface between the end of the compress mandrel and the receiving conveyor support structure. This dis charge position may be located to fit into any desired mill layout or flow path with intermediate active storage of the unbanded and banded bundles provided to accomodate multiple strand mills with provision for down time for service and initial set-up as required. For example, the relative locations of the mandrel for receiving unbanded coils and for discharging compacted and banded coils can be arranged to accommodate the desired mill layout with a minimum operating time cycle to achieve the most eflicient operation. In particular, the same load and unload position for the mandrel will eliminate the time involved in returning an empty mandrel to loading position.

It is according the principle object of the present invention to provide apparatus for continuously handling large rod coil bundles to convert loosely coiled bundles into compressed and tied bundles with an operating capability, for example, of one 3,000 pound bundle approximately every two minutes.

A further object of the invention is to provide apparatus in accordance with the principle object which handles the bundle without damage to the individual rod coils in the bundle as they are received, compressed, tied and transferred to the final conveyor.

Another object of the invention is to provide for handling rod coil bundles in a manner which permits visual inspection of substantially the entire outer surface of the bundle and the taking of sample pieces of the rod from the front end and the rear end of the continuous rod which is coiled into the coils of the bundle.

A further object of the invention is to provide coil compressing and bundling apparatus which can be adjusted to operate with the various size bundles without lost motion in the compression stroke due to the reduced size of the smaller bundles.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a compressing mandrel which is rotatably supported relative to a compressing platen with a clearance that prevents the possibility of a rod coil escaping from the end of the bundle during the compressing operation or when the mandrel and bundle are rotated to position the bundle for application of straps at a plurality of positions on the bundle.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Brief description of the drawings FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of the apparatus in accordance with the invention as it is positioned relative to a reforming mandrel and a conveyor for delivering loose coil bundles to the apparatus and delivering strapped coiled bundles to the conveyor.

FIG. 2 is an end elevation view taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1 showing further details of the apparatus including the strapping and tieing devices.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view generally taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2, except for the mandrel portion which is shown in a view taken along line 3'3' of FIG. 5.

FIG. 4 is a detailed view of the latching mechanism for accurately aligning the compress mandrel in its intermediate position.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 3.

Description of the preferred embodiment Referring now to FIG. 1 the appaartus generally comprises a frame having vertical structural members 11 with a top cross member 12 which supports thereunder a flat platen 13 and a bottom cross member 14 which supports a hydraulic ram 15. Centrally located along the structural members 11 are two trunnion bearings which support trunnion shafts 17 which is suspended for rotation on a horizontal axis. The bearing supports 10 for the trunnion shafts 17 may be on the frame members 11 but since no compression forces for compacting the bundle are transmitted through the trunnion shafts 17 to the bearings 10 it is not necessary that the supports be associated with the load bearing structure 11.

The trunnion shafts 17 pivotally support a trunnion 16 for pivotal motion within the frame members 11. The trunnion 16 supports a compressing mandrel 21 on which slides a coil plate 22 that has a compression stem 23 depending therefrom. The details of the construction and operation of the portions of the device supported on the trunnion 16 will be given in more detail hereinafter. In FIG. 1, however, the general arrangement of the device relative to a reforming mandrel 24 which supports a loose coil bundle 25 is indicated by the alternate position of the mandrel 21. The third position for the mandrel 21 is extending horizontally in the opposite direction toward a hook conveyor 26 which has a stepped and beveled leading edge 27 adapted to form a smooth transition joint with the mandrel 21 when a compacted and strapped bundle is stripped therefrom in the final discharge of a finished bundle. The hook carrier conveyor 26 may travel to a point where the strapped bundles are disposed of or placed in storage as the case may be.

Referring now to FIG. 2 the general details of the arrangement of FIG. 1 are viewed in end elevation to show the spaced arrangement of the structural members 11 to permit rotation of the trunnion 16, mandrel 21 and stem 23 within the framework formed by the structural members 11. The shaft 17 is driven selectively to position the mandrel 21 in either of two opposed horizontal positions or on intermediate vertical position by means of a drive mechanism and indexing device 31 driven by a suitable motor 32. For accurately positioning the mandrel 21 in the vertical position, a depending arm 33 extends below the trunnion 16 and has a cam follower 34 on the end thereof which is engaged by a latching mechanism 35. The latch 35 is elevated into position by the operation of a cylinder 36 and when so engaged, positions the mandrel 21 in an accurately vertical position.

The trunnion 16 has a central transverse axis normal to the axis of rotation of shaft 17 the extensions of which form the central axis for the mandrel 21 and the stem 23. Supported within the trunnion 16 is a base 41 which is supported within the trunnion 16 for rotation about the transverse axis. The trunnion is 16 supports two linear hydraulic actuators 42 which engage a lifting plate 43 which is slideable axially when the actuators 42 are operated relative to the trunnion 16. The lifting plate 43 is rotatably mounted to a turning ring 44 which is secured to and forms the bottom portion of the base 41. For driving the turning ring 44 in rotation, a mandrel drive assembly 45 engages an outer gear section 46 on the turning ring 44 with a suitable motor drive 47 supported on the trunnion housing 16.

Two opposed band feeding and tieing machines 51 are mounted on the upper portions of the frame members 11. The devices 51 can be commercial types G8A10 Acme Steel Product Div. manufactured by Interlake Steel Company. A pair of movable strap track channels 52 are supported by a linkage 53 on the frame 11 and advanced by linear actuators 54 to form a complete strap track loop when the actuators 54 are extended. When so positioned, the strap tracks 52 are located to receive the steel band fed by the machines 51 and guide it downwardly along the outer surface of the bundle 55. At the bottom of the bundle, a 180 degree turn guide 56 is provided on each side to reverse the direction of motion of the steel band and run it up through a track that is recessed in the surface of the mandrel 21. This track 57 is best seen in FIG. 5. Above the machine 51 a second 180 degree turn guide 58 is provided which directs the leading end of the steel band into a converging guide 59 on the machines 51 for tensioning and securing the steel band according to the normal operation of the banding machines 51. In the process of tensioning the band the machines 51 apply sufiicient force to the band to force it out of the channel track 57 and the guides 52 which guided the band around the bundle and draw the band tight around the bundle.

Referring now to FIG. 3 the sectional view shows some of the details of the trunnion 16, base 41 and stem 23 assembly. Trunnion 16 has a cylindrical inner bore in which are fitted bushings 60 and 61 which rotatably and slidably support the cylindrical base 41. The base 41 has a circular flange 62 at its top which forms a bolting circle to receive bolts through a flanged foot 63 of the sectors of mandrel 21. The bottom end of the base 41 has attached thereto the turning plate 44 which is rotatably attached to the lifting ring 43 by means of a thrust bearing 64. Thus, when the lifting ring 43 is raised or lowered by the actuators 42 the lifting force is transmitted through the bearing 64 to the lifting plate 44 to slide the base 41 through the bushings 60 and 61 on the trunnion 16.

Mounted on the base 41 and extending inwardly are a set of rollers 65 which roll on the surface of the stem 23 to maintain axial alignment as the stem 23 translates relative to the inner bore of the base 41. The coil plate 22 is attached by a plurality of radial plates 66 depending therefrom which are welded or otherwise secured to the upper portion of the stem 23. In each of the plates 66 is mounted a roller 67 which projects on both sides of the plate 66 to form a rolling bearing against the opposed surfaces of adjacent mandrel sections which are spaced to form a slot 68. These slots 68 permit the coil plate 22 which is externally concentric with the mandrel 21 to be connected by the radial plates 66 to the stem 23 which is internally concentric with the mandrel 21. By virtue of the rolling contacts provided by the rollers 65 and 67 this assembly is capable of axial translation so that the coil plate 22 can move relative to the mandrel 21 both for providing an initial position for the coil plate 22 according to the desired bundle size that is to be banded and for stripping the finished bundle from the mandrel after it has been banded. To achieve this motion a long linear actuator cylinder 71 is suspended from a mandrel cap 72 with a piston rod 73 having its remote end connected to a ram bearing plate 74 at the bottom end of the stem 23. With this arrangement extension and retraction of the piston rod 73 moves the coil plate 22 and stem 23 relative to the mandrel 21. To facilitate stripping a bundle completely off the mandrel 21 the coil plate 22 is spaced above a top edge 75 of the radial plates 66. With this arrangement the radial plates 66 slide in the slots 68 to a point where the coil plate 22 extends beyond the top end of the mandrel cap 72 before the top edges 75 of the plates 66 are arrested by contacting the mandrel cap 72.

Depending from the platen 13 is a conical seat 81 which is positioned to receive a conical projection 82 on the mandrel cap 72 and provide a bearing support for the mandrel during the compressing operation. The linear actuators 42 provide sufiicient axial travel for the base 41 and the mandrel 21 supported thereby to raise the conical projection 82 into firm engagement with the conical seat 81. The position at which firm seating takes place between these two members is accurately controlled by shimrning the conical projection 82 to provide a small but uniform clearance between a lip 83 of the mandrel cap 72 and the planar surface of the platen 13. This small clearance is required to assure that no bundle loop can pass between the edge 83 and the platen 13 during the compressing operation since such loops if they were to be so located would not be properly banded. Since it is desirable to apply a plurality of bands it is necessary to rotate the bundle and mandrel 21 after the mandrel has been elevated to seat the projection 82 in the stationary seat 81. For this purpose the projection 82 is rotatably mounted to the mandrel cap 72 by means of a roller bearing assembly 84. Thus with the projection 82 fast against the seat 81 the mandrel 21 and the mandrel cap 72 are free to rotate when the rotating ring 46 is driven by means of an elongated pinion gear 85 which engages the gear sector 46 and is driven from the drive motor 47 through suitable reduction gearing.

Referring now to FIG. 4 the details of the shock absorber and latching mechanism will be described. The positioning arm 33 which extends from the trunnion 16 has opposed flats 91 which bear against adjustable limit stops 92 for the two horizontal positions of the trunnion mandrel assembly. At the end of the arm 33 the cam follower 34 engages a piston rod 93 which operates in a shock absorber 94 to avoid unnecessary shock load on the apparatus as the loaded mandrel is brought into horizontal position. For the vertical position of the trunnion and mandrel assembly the arm 33 depends vertically and locates the cam follower 34 within the range of the tapered opening formed by the beveled surfaces 95 on the latch mechanism 35. The latch mechanism is elevated by a bell crank and bar linkage 96 operated by the linear actuator 36. When elevated the latch 35 accurately positions the cam follower 34 so that the mandrel 21 is accurately positioned vertically.

Referring now to FIG. 5 an end view of the coil plate and mandrel assembly is shown in which the interior relation of the parts can be seen. The stem 23 is inserted through the internal bore of the base 41 and the flat sides ofthe stem 23- have centered recessed grooves 101 for receiving the rollers 65. The coil plate 22 is supported by the radial plates 66 welded to the stem 23 above the circular flange plate 62 on the base 41. The mandrel 21 is then assembled by bolting the flanged foot 63 of each mandrel sector to the circular plate 62 and the free ends of the mandrel sectors are attached to the mandrel cap 72, which is mounted by the roller bearing unit 84 to the stationery assembly of the conical projection 82 and the linear actuator cylinder 71 (not shown in FIG. 5). The coil plate 22 is an assembly welded on the upper ends of radial plates 66 and provides grooves in its top surface exposing the 180 strapping turn around guides 56.

As previously stated the mandrel 21 formed by four individual sectors provides at the space between the sectors slots 68 in which the rollers 67 can bear against the edges of the sectors. This provides a continuous lateral support for the coil plate 22 as it travels along the mandrel 21. The mandrel sectors also provide recesses 102 in which the strap tracks 57 are mounted.

From the foregoing description of the objects and construction of the present invention the operation of the various parts will be apparent. Accordingly only a brief description of a typical cycle of operation will be given. If full size bundles are to be handled the coil plate 22 is retracted to its position nearest the trunnion axis 17 so that the full length of the mandrel 21 extends beyond the coil plate 22. In any intermediate len'gth coils are to be formed the coil plate 22 is positioned initially at some intermediate position so that the coil whatever its size is always positioned near the free end of the mandrel 21 to save time in compressing and stripping the finished coil from the mandrel and in reciprocating the coil plate 22 to or from its extreme positions for the particular size involved. With the initial position of coil plate 22 established, the trunnion 16 is rotated to the horizontal position indicated in dotted lines in FIG. 1 and the actuators 42 advance the base and mandrel to the left toward the reforming mandrel 24 upon which the coil 25 rests. The end of the mandrel 21 is fitted to the end of the reforming mandrel 24 so that a smooth transition joint is achieved when the mandrel 21 is advance-d to the left in FIG. 1. The reformed bundle 25 is then stripped from the reforming mandrel 24 to the compacting mandrel 21. The mandrel 21 is then withdrawn from engagement with the mandrel 24 by extension of the actuators 42. The trunnion 16 is then pivoted to place the mandrel 21 in the vertical position and the latch mechanism 35 is operated to assure that the mandrel is accurately vertical. With the mandrel 21 vertical the actuators 42 are retracted to lift the mandrel 21 until the extension 82 engages the seat 81 and the edge 83 of the mandrel is accurately spaced from the platen 13.

The coil is now in position for compacting and this is achieved by extending the main ram 15 against the pressure plate 74 on the bottom of the stem 23. The force from the ram is applied through the stem 23 to the coil plate 22 thence through the bundle that is on the mandrel 21 and against the platen 13. This stress is reacted through the structural members 11 against the cross member 14 which supports the ram 15 and thus the entire compacting force is borne by the frame construction 11 and the cross members 13 and 14. When either a predetermined size or pressure has been achieved the strapping machines 51 are actuated to feed steel strap down the tracks 52 on the outside of the bundle around the curved guides 56 and up through the internal tracks 57 on the mandrel. As the straps emerge from the top of the tracks 57 the curved guides 58 direct the head end of the straps into the machine 51 where its presence is detected to stop feeding the strap. The machines 51 then reverse and pull up the slack strapping while the head end is held thereby tightening the strap and pulling it free from the tracks 52 and 57. The strap is then clinched to secure it in its tensioned condition and the ram pressure is relieved. The

bundle on the coil plate 22 is lowered slightly so that it is clear of the platen 13 and the mandrel 21. The strap tracks 52 are backed off and the coil plate 22 and bundle 25 are rotated degrees by driving the pinion 85 which engages the gear sector 46. Ram pressure is'again applied reestablishin-g either the predetermined size or compressing pressure and the strapping cycle is repeated to add the third and fourth bands.

.After the final bands have been clinched ram pressure is relieved and the coil plate and bundle are lowered slightly. Actuators 42 are extended to lower the mandrel below the conical projection 81 so that the entire assembly can be pivoted to the stripping horizontal position which is the opposite of that indicated in dotted lines in FIG. 1. The cylinders 42 are retracted to advance the mandrel 21 to the right to form a smooth joint across the point 27 of the hook carrier 26. In this position the linear actuator 71, 73 is extended to advance the coil plate 22 to the end of the mandrel 21 thereby stripping the strapped coil off the mandrel 21 and onto the hook conveyor unit 26. The hook carrier 26 is then conveyed to a disposal point where the finished bundle is stored or shipped and the compacting mandrel 21 is pivoted degrees to the horizontal position where it is ready to receive the next reformed bundle 25 on the reforming mandrel 24. This cycle is repeated as often as required and the equipment as disclosed is capable of compacting and banding a bundle every two minutes with considerably shorter cycles if smaller than full size bundles are to be compacted.

Many modifications of the present disclosure will now be apparent to those skilled in the art and the invention accordingly is to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for compacting and banding rod coil bundles com-prising (a) a trunnion mounted to pivot about a substantially horizontal axis;

(b) a base mounted on said trunnion, said base moveable along a transverse axis normal to said horizontal axis;

(c) a mandrel extending from said base to one side of said trunnion;

(d) a coil plate mounted for translation along said mandrel and having a stern extending through said base to project on the opposite side of said trunnion in alignment with said transverse axis;

(e) a stationary frame having structural members longer than the combined length of said mandrel and said stem with said trunnion mounted to rotate said base mandrel and stem within said frame;

(f) means for rotating said trunnion about said horizontal axis to three sequential indexed positions, the intermediate position of which aligns said transverse axis generally parallel with said structural members of said frame;

(g) a cross member at one end of said frame supporting a platen opposed to the end of said mandrel when said trunnion is in said intermediate position;

(h) a cross member at the other end of said frame supporting a ram engagable with the end of said stern when said trunnion is in said intermediate position;

(i) means operable for moving said base in either direction along said transverse axis to advance and withdraw said mandrel;

(j) means operable for extending said ram in engagement with the end of said stem to advance said coil plate along said mandrel for compressing a rod bundle on said mandrel between said coil plate and said platen; and

(k) strapping means operable to band a rod bundle which is compressed between said coil plate and said platen.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which said base is rotatably and slidably mounted in said trunnion to rotate on and slide along said transverse axis and including:

(a) an axial extension on the end of said mandrel including a rotating bearing support between said ex.- tension and said mandrel;

(b) a seat depending from said platen for receiving said axial extension;

(c) means operable for rotating said base about said transverse axis; and

(d) spacer means for maintaining a predetermined spaced relation between the end of said mandrel and the surface of said platen when said mandrel is extended to engage said projection and seat by moving said base along said transverse axis;

said strapping means being operable successively after rotation of said base to apply straps to a compressed bundle at a plurality of spaced locations on the bundle.

'3. Apparatus according to claim 1 and including an actuator connected between said mandrel and said stem and operable to translate said coil plate along said mandrel for initially positioning said coil plate at a selected position on said mandrel and stripping bundles from said mandrel.

4. Apparatus according to claim 2 and including an actuator connected between said mandrel and said stem and operable to translate said coil plate along said mandrel for initially positioning said coil plate at a selected position on said mandrel and stripping bundles from said mandrel.

5. Apparatus according to claim 2 in which the means for moving said base in either direction comprises:

(a) a mounting ring at the bottom of said base;

(b) a lifting ring between said mounting ring and said horizontal axis of said trunnion with said base extending from said mounting ring thnough said lifting ring;

(c) a ring bearing between said mounting ring and said lifting ring; and

(d) linear actuator means between said trunnion and said lifting ring for moving said base and mandrel in either direction along said transverse axis.

6. Apparatus according to claim 5 and including:

(a) a gear segment on the edge of said mounting ring;

and

(b) an elongated pinion mounted on said trunnion and engaged for driving said gear segment to rotate said mandrel about said transverse axis for the different axial positions of said mandrel along said transverse axis.

7. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which said coil plate comprises a centrally apertured plate having a plurality of depending radial members for connecting said stem to said coil plate, and said mandrel comprises a plurality of circular sectors secured at one end to said base in spaced relation to form longitudinal slots in said mandrel through which said radial members extend to support said apertured plate concentrically outside said mandrel and said stern concentrically within said mandrel.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7 and including rollers mounted on each said radial member for rolling contact with the opposed edges of said sectors that form the respective slots and a set of rollers mounted on said base and projecting inwardly for rolling cont act with the surface of said stem.

9. Apparatus according to claim 2 in which the end of said mandrel has an internal recess with said axial extension located in said recess to permit the end of said mandrel to be spaced from said platen less than the diameter of said rod in said bundle when said extension engages said seat.

10. Apparatus according to claim 1 and including:

(a) an indexing arm on said trunnion aligned parallel to said transverse axis and extending on said opposite side; and

(b) a latch mechanism mounted on said frame and operable to engage said indexing arm when said mandrel is in said intermediate position to earn said arm and said mandrel into accurate predetermined angular alignment relative to said frame.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,883,925 4/1959 Pritchard et al. 100-12 XR 2,920,555 1/ 1960 Sherriff 100-3 XR 3,129,658 4/1964 Valente 10012 XR 3,195,444 7/1965 McLean 10012 XR 3,212,429 10/1965 Fay et al. 10012 XR FOREIGN PATENTS 1,049,294 1/ 1959 Germany.

706,498 3/1954 Great Britain.

BILLY J. WILHITE, Primary Examiner. 

